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Then, on the final day before the NHL trade deadline, came the raffle on sharpshooters.

In rapid succession, proven goal scorers Martin St. Louis, Marian Gaborik, Matt Moulson and Thomas Vanek found new employers, or at least were assigned to new teams to finish out this season.

St. Louis, the newest Ranger, will stay at least one more season in Manhattan. The other three are all unrestricted free agents in July, and as such are the purest definition of hockey hired guns.

Now we’ll see if any, or all, can shoot straight.

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While all four players share the characteristic of being established scorers, all arrived with their new teams on a 20-trade Wednesday amidst very different circumstances.

Vanek and Moulson were actually traded for each other earlier this season. The Islanders tried to sign and retain Vanek, but the Austrian winger just wasn’t interested. Buffalo, the NHL’s worst team, was always focussed on flipping Moulson for assets that better fit its rebuild.

Gaborik, a huge disappointment in possibly playoff-bound Columbus, missed several months this season with a busted collarbone and landed in L.A., with the Blue Jackets forced to still pay half his remaining salary.

St. Louis, finally, was an entirely different story, and his departure from Tampa was as controversial as Roberto Luongo’s from Vancouver 24 hours earlier. Maybe more so.

Luongo had wanted out for almost two years and finally got his wish, albeit after being embarrassed by not starting in Sunday’s Heritage Classic at B.C. Place.

St. Louis, meanwhile, had asked Tampa management for a move to the Rangers and a chance to be closer to his family home in Greenwich, Conn., several years ago when Brian Lawton was the GM. He revived that request this season, and then demanded a trade sometime after he wasn’t included on the original roster for the Canadian Olympic team by Steve Yzerman, also his GM in Tampa.

Yzerman was simply building the best team he could for Canada, doing his patriotic shinny duty rather than putting the interests of his NHL team first. St. Louis, however, saw it as a deliberate dismissal of his talent, an insult, and it reinforced his belief he wanted out of the city where he had helped win a Stanley Cup a decade ago. Even later being named as a replacement for injured teammate Steven Stamkos didn’t heal the wound sufficiently, and instead he skated between Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin against the Leafs Wednesday night.

“I respect the fact that many of you do not agree with my decision and are angry with it,” said St. Louis in a statement to Tampa fans. “All I can really say is I’m sorry.”

Remarkably, Yzerman managed to do quite well in the trade despite having only one team with which to negotiate, and took the high road in his post-trade comments.

“I’m not going to stand here and judge him,” said the long-time Detroit superstar.

Yzerman received a first-round pick next year, a second-round pick this year that could become a first and the rights to Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and rejected a six-year, $36 million contract from New York.

Callahan, whether he re-signs with Tampa or not, is a gritty performer who could help the Bolts this spring, particularly with Stamkos expected back for his first game on Thursday since breaking his leg in the fall.

Callahan won’t replace St. Louis’ offensive punch, but he will bring other qualities, and the draft picks should help Yzerman bolster his team’s depth chart, still very much a priority in central Florida.

So given the circumstances, the Lightning did well. Very well, in fact.

Gaborik was the next to go, and the hope in L.A. will be that he enhances the offensive output of a Kings team that is two years removed from a Cup but struggles to score on its best nights. For the cost of ex-Leaf Matt Frattin and two draft picks, the Kings bought a veteran player with a reputation for being an explosive scorer, just not in recent times.

Kings GM Dean Lombardi said Gaborik can bring unique skills “but not at the expense of what this team stands for.”

And welcome to town, son.

Columbus was trying to be a buyer and seller on deadline day, and did add defenceman Nick Schultz to help fill for blue-liner Ryan Murray, injured Monday against the Leafs.

Vanek and Moulson, meanwhile, were traded to Montreal and Minnesota, respectively, just before the 3 p.m. deadline. That, Calgary acting GM Brian Burke said, hampered his ability to move a similar asset, winger Mike Cammalleri, who didn’t get traded.

Vanek, who many believe will be headed back to his college stomping grounds in Minnesota this summer via free agency, wouldn’t say whether he will consider re-signing in Montreal. For now, he immediately becomes the Habs’ leading scorer and gives the club a power-play threat up front with P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov manning the points.

It was the kind of upgrade the Leafs didn’t make, which could make it more difficult for Toronto to catch the Canadiens, not to mention Tampa, in the Atlantic Division.

Moulson, finally, will add some scoring to a red-hot Minnesota lineup, and perhaps be a place holder until Vanek arrives in the summer. Those two just can’t seem to get out of each other’s way.

Ottawa added Ales Hemsky, Lee Stempniak went to Pittsburgh and David Legwand become a Red Wing, with all those teams hoping they can catch lightning in a bottle with their new, less expensive additions.

The pressure on the Big Four — St. Louis, Vanek, Moulson and Gaborik — will be much greater.

They’ve been brought in to score. The scoresheet, and nothing else, will measure their success.

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